This is an analysis of the poem The Song My Mother Sings that begins with:

SWEET unto my heart is the song my mother sings
As eventide is brooding on its dark and noiseless wings;... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aaaabbaa ccddeeaa ffbbggaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 110110011101 110001010111001 100101010000100101 0010100100010101 0101011110101 111010101010111 11010100010111 10110010011101 111000101010101 111110111111101 1111101010101010 1110101010101010 1101000110101 11010101010101 1101000110111001 111011100011101 001011100010111 001010101010101 001011100011100 111010101011001 001010100110001 101010101010101 111111010100101 111011100011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 493
  • Average number of words per stanza: 96
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 61 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of, i, and, it's are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word it is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word sings at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Song My Mother Sings;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Thomas O'Hagan